Chapter 49

At that moment, Uchiha Chisato suddenly asked, "I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to check on you. Mikoto told me you've already bonded with Kushina Uzumaki and that boy named Minato Namikaze?"

"Why so suddenly?"

"You've only been in school a few days, haven't you? How did you raise their affection so quickly?"

Kushina was one thing. As a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, her talent spoke for itself.

But that Minato Namikaze-if she remembered correctly, Xunjing had said the boy was the Fourth Hokage in the original timeline, hadn't he?

Uchiha Chisato still remembered her son mentioning it.

She hadn't expected him to win the boy over already.

Of course, getting their affection to rise that quickly must have taken some effort.

"That's right!"

Xunjing smiled and nodded. "They're children. Their minds are simple, so it's easy to raise their affection!"

"Kushina was straightforward. With Mikoto's help and Lady Mito's support, everything went pretty smoothly."

"She's talented too, so I went ahead and formed a contract with her."

"As for Minato?"

"He may come from an ordinary family, but he's just as talented. I have high hopes for his future."

"And the kid has impeccable character. He knows how to be grateful, so his affection rose incredibly fast."

Uchiha Chisato looked approving when she heard that. "Since you've already formed contracts, make sure you train them well!"

"They'll be able to help you in the future."

"Invite them over when you have time."

"Oh, have you taken them to the Pirate World yet?"

"Not yet."

Xunjing shook his head. "I've spent the last few days teaching them Basic Body Technique, chakra control, and the health cultivation method, so I haven't had time. I'm planning to do it in a few days."

"All right."

Uchiha Chisato understood.

She was just about to say something else.

Knock, knock, knock!

Suddenly, a knock came from outside the courtyard gate.

Uchiha Chisato paused. A sweep of her Observation Haki revealed Uchiha Shidai standing outside, and her expression immediately turned serious.

She rose, went outside, and opened the courtyard gate. "Shidai, what happened?"

"First Elder, reports have come in from the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Mist Village, and Iwagakure-their elite ninja have all disappeared!

"Especially in the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village. Even the Raikage and Mizukage haven't shown themselves all day.

"And in the Land of Whirlpools, the spies from the various ninja villages who were running around causing trouble have vanished without a trace over the past two days. Not a single one can be found.

"The men in our clan's intelligence department and I analyzed the situation. Most likely, those three ninja villages have already mobilized their forces and are preparing to attack the Land of Whirlpools.

"The sudden disappearance of those spies inside the Land of Whirlpools isn't a good sign. It's the dead silence before the storm.

"They're deliberately making everything seem peaceful to lull the Land of Whirlpools into complacency.

"Once the villages' elite forces arrive, they'll probably launch a devastating strike."

Uchiha Shidai's expression was grim as he delivered his report to Uchiha Chisato, his words urgent and firm.

Keeping a close watch on these developments was the only task Uchiha Chisato had assigned him recently.

The First Elder had ordered the utmost vigilance, and Shidai hadn't dared be careless.

After hearing him out, Uchiha Chisato knitted her brows and said gravely, "Your assessment is sound. They're probably about to make their move.

"I'll go see Uzumaki Mito right away to discuss deploying our troops.

"Send someone to notify the Second Elder, Third Elder, and Fourth Elder immediately. Have them wait at the Clan Grounds Square.

"Also, pass on my order: the Elite Police Force First Division and Second Division are to assemble immediately and stand by, ready to march with me at any moment."

The Elite Police Force now had three divisions, each with sixty-four members, for a total of one hundred and ninety-two.

It included nearly seventy percent of the clan's elite.

Even its weakest members were elite chunin with two-tomoe Sharingan.

Anyone who failed to meet that threshold had no right to join the Elite Police Force.

The remaining thirty percent were all jonin or even elite jonin.

That was just how formidable the Uchiha were at this point in time.

"Yes!"

Uchiha Shidai acknowledged the order, then turned and left.

Uchiha Chisato hurried back inside and told Xunjing and Mikoto, "There's been movement around the Land of Whirlpools. I need to see Uzumaki Mito immediately.

"I'll probably be leading troops to the Land of Whirlpools very soon.

"To be safe, I'll have to go personally this time.

"But I'll leave a Shadow Clone at home. If you need anything, find my clone, and I can teleport back immediately.

"Don't go to school or leave the clan grounds over the next few days. Stay put inside the clan.

"If you really want to go out, go to the Pirate World. That way, the rats lurking in the shadows won't be able to pull anything while I'm away and hurt you."

Uchiha Chisato clearly had no intention of leaving Danzo and his ilk any openings.

"Understood."

Xunjing and Mikoto nodded together.

"Also, I'll leave Uchiha Liuhuo here with the Elite Police Force Third Division. He'll command the clan's other chunin and genin and maintain strict patrols of the clan grounds during this time. No one will have a chance to spy on the Uchiha.

"And close the pharmacy for the next few days. Store the medicines we've produced and reopen when I get back. We can sell them all then."

Uchiha Chisato added those instructions.

"All right!" Xunjing and Mikoto answered together.

"Good. There's nothing else, is there? I'll be going, then."

She thought it over carefully, confirmed she hadn't missed anything, and was about to create a Shadow Clone.

Xunjing hurriedly stopped her. "Don't!"

"Mom, where you're going, you might run into the Third Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, the Mizukage, and the others. Don't split off your chakra needlessly."

"I have a more reliable way to stay in touch."

"What is it?" Uchiha Chisato stopped, intrigued.

Xunjing smiled. "It's actually just a small adjustment to the Space-Time Gate Space."

"I can set aside a little area inside it specifically for passing messages."

"The space linked to each person will work like a little mailbox. Whenever something is put inside, the corresponding person will receive a notification in their sea of consciousness."

"It's really simple."

An operation on that scale took practically no effort for him.

"It can do that too?" Uchiha Chisato's and Mikoto's eyes lit up.

Neither had expected the Space-Time Gate to have such a use.

"Let's do it your way. Try it now," Uchiha Chisato urged.

"No problem."

With a thought, Xunjing marked off a small area in the Space-Time Gate Space and divided it into several mailbox compartments.

The top five were labeled with their names.

After setting up the notification function, he told Uchiha Chisato, "It's ready. Give it a try."

"All right."

Uchiha Chisato tested it.

It worked perfectly.

"We'll use this, then. I won't leave a Shadow Clone."

"Stay safe at home. I'm off."

With that, she vanished in a flash, heading toward the Senju Clan Grounds.

Xunjing and Mikoto exchanged a glance.

"Sigh. I'm still too young, and I'm not strong enough."

"Otherwise, Mom wouldn't have to worry so much. Maybe I could even go straight to the battlefield."

There was a trace of frustration in Xunjing's voice.

Mikoto smiled and pinched his cheek. "Don't overthink it. Like you said, we're still young."

"We can talk about that when we're older."

Uchiha Mikoto reached out and pinched Xunjing's cheek, amusement in her voice. "You've been training so hard all these years. Sooner or later, you'll be able to help Auntie."

"Besides, how are you useless?"

"Without you, Auntie would never have recovered, and the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have become so united."

"Even my current strength is thanks to you."

"You've already done more than enough."

"Don't keep wishing you could grow up faster. Just take things one step at a time."

She had witnessed all the changes in the clan over the past month or so.

Almost every day brought something new.

The clan members, once divided into several factions and lacking any unity, had quickly come together during that time.

By now, the radicals, conservatives, and fence-sitters had all but disappeared.

Xunjing deserved much of the credit for that.